Multislice CT urography: state of the art.

Recent improvements in helical CT hardware and software have provided imagers with the tools to obtain an increasingly large number of very thin axial images. As a result, a number of new applications for multislice CT have recently been developed, one of which is CT urography. The motivation for performing CT urography is the desire to create a single imaging test that can completely assess the kidneys and urinary tract for urolithiasis, renal masses and mucosal abnormalities of the renal collecting system, ureters and bladder. Although the preferred technique for performing multislice CT urography has not yet been determined and results are preliminary, early indications suggest that this examination can detect even subtle benign and malignant urothelial abnormalities and that it has the potential to completely replace excretory urography within the next several years. An important limitation of multislice CT urography is increased patient radiation exposure encountered when some of the more thorough recommended techniques are utilized.